Citi Card Japan didn't say how the information fell into the hands of outsiders, but according toThe Japan Times: “A person involved in a company to which Citi Cards outsourced part of its business illicitly obtained the information and sold it to a third party, the unit of Citigroup said Friday.”

Citi Cards Japan said Friday it has seen no evidence of unusual or suspicious credit card transactions relating to the theft and that it has placed internal fraud alerts and enhanced monitoring on all affected accounts. It is fully cooperating with authorities investigating the breach. ®